Thursday, September 27, 2012

"Prison Song" - System Of A DownThey're trying to build a prison
Following the rights movement
You clamped on with your iron fists
Drugs became conveniently
Available for all the kids
I buy my crack, I smack my bitch
Right here in hollywood
(nearly 2 million americans are
incarcerated in the prison system
prison system of the US)

Judith is trying to build a prison, a glorious private incarceration empire that will somehow magically make all the problems of imprisoning more and more NZers just disappear. SERCO told the London Stock Exchange this month that they would be making $29 million each year from their private prison operations in NZ, that's on top of the cost of building the $900m prison and by 2014 NZ will have the highest proportion of prisoners in private prisons than any other county in the world.

They're trying to build a prison
(for you and me to live in)
Another prison system
(for you and me to live in)
Minor drug offenders fill your prisons
you don't even flinch
all our taxes paying for your wars
against the new non-rich
Minor drug offenders fill your prisons
you don't even flinch
all our taxes paying for your wars
against the new non-rich
I buy my crack, I smack my bitch
right here in hollywood
The percentage of americans in the prison system
prison system, has doubled since 1985
They're trying to build a prison

How is Judith ensuring that Serco will be making their $29m per year? We will pay Serco for 960 beds for 25 years even if they are not full, that means the bloody contract forces Government to find people to put in the prison.

All research and successful drug policy show
that treatment should be increased
And law enforcement decreased
While abolishing mandatory minimun sentences
Utilising drugs to pay for secret wars around the world
drugs are now your global policy now you police the globe
I buy my crack, I smack my bitch
right here in hollywood
Drug money is used to rig elections
and train brutal corporate sponsored dictators
around the world
They're trying to build a prison
(for you and me to live in)
Another prison system
(for you and me to live in)
For you and I, for you and I, for you and I
For you and I
They're trying to build a prison

Prisoners will have to earn chance at paroleSerious offenders will have to jump through a series of hoops to show they deserve a parole hearing under a law change which aims to reduce the stress of annual hearings for victims.

...ahh yes. they good old 'we will deny parole' game. The problem is that parole is the only instrument the state has when someone is in Prison to force moderation of a prisoners behavior. When the service was a public service Parole was important, now it's becoming private, parole has to be denied at every corner because the longer the prisoner is in prison, the more money they make.

Private prison managers get to appoint the internal adjudicators who tour prisons meting out prison justice to prisoners who break rules. These breaches are presented to the Parole Board and are considered when judging if a prisoner should gain parole. A savvy Manager will 'do an ACC' and appoint hanging adjudicators who always find against a prisoner so that when the parole board meet there is no way that parole will be granted.

So we will have longer times between parole hearings within a system open for abuse by the private prisons.

Using the sensible sentencing trust to cheerlead from the sidelines hides the fact that the only ones really rubbing their hands with glee over parole changes are Serco.